Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad (1863-1939) |
Opening page of the inaugural issue of |
The house on King Henry’s Road, North West London' which formed Ambedkar's residence while student at LSE |
Ambedkar with his classmates and teachers at LSE |
, Ambedkar's magnum opus |
Prof. Edwin Cannan, renowned economist and Ambedkar's doctoral supervisor at LSE |
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How to organize the downtrodden.
Dr. Ambedkar completed his academic work, and began in earnest his lifelong struggle for political rights and social justice for the downtrodden, and especially for the untouchables; his activities started to bring him into conflict with the views and plans of the Congress Party.
1920: Dr. Ambedkar started a weekly paper, "Mooknayak" ("Leader of the Voiceless"), in Marathi, with the help of the reform-minded Shahu I (1884-1922) [ site ], Maharaja of Kolhapur [ Imperial Gazetteer ] [ Imperial Gazetteer map ]. In the first issue he called India a "home of inequality," and described Hindu society as "a tower which had several storeys without a ladder or an entrance. One was to die in the storey in which one was born." The Depressed Classes must be saved "from perpetual slavery, poverty, and ignorance"; herculean efforts must be made "to awaken them to their disabilities." (--Dhananjay Keer, Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission , Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1971 [1954], p.41; Dr. Ambedkar contributed extensively to this biography.)
1920: In March, he spoke at a Depressed Classes conference in Mangaon in Kolhapur State; it was attended by the Maharaja of Kolhapur, who publicly praised him as a future national leader. At the end of the conference the Maharaja and his courtiers shock the tradition-minded by actually dining with Ambedkar and his caste members. (Dhananjay Keer, Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission , Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1971 [1954], p. 42; Dr. Ambedkar contributed extensively to this biography.)
1920: In May, the Maharajah of Kolhapur convened another such conference, in Nagpur [ Imperial Gazetteer ] [ Imperial Gazetteer map ], a town later to acquire a major symbolic significance in Dr. Ambedkar's life.
"At the conclusion of the conference, Ambedkar made an attempt in the direction of consolidating the forces of the Depressed Classes. In the Central Provinces the Mahar community had eighteen sub-castes. He called the leaders of the community together and gave a dinner in which they all participated. It should be noted that with great persuasion Ambedkar could get all the sub-castes of the Mahar community, and not all the Untouchable communities, to dine together. It was not possible yet to make all the communities belonging to the Untouchables participate in an intercaste dinner!" (--slightly edited from the translation in Dhananjay Keer, Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission , Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1971 [1954], p.43; Dr. Ambedkar contributed extensively to this biography.)
1920: Having resigned from his teaching position, in July he returned to London, relying on his own savings, supplemented by loans from the Maharaja of Kolhapur and his friend Naval Bhathena. He returned to the London School of Economics, and to Gray's Inn to read for the Bar. He lived in poverty, and studied constantly in the British Museum [ site ]. (Dhananjay Keer, Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission , Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1971 [1954], pp. 44-46; Dr. Ambedkar contributed extensively to this biography.)
1922: Through unremitting hard work, Ambedkar once again overfulfilled all expectations: he completed a thesis for a M.Sc. (Econonics) degree at London School of Economics, and was called to the bar, and submitted a Ph.D. thesis in economics to the University of London. (Dhananjay Keer, Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission , Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1971 [1954], pp. 48-49; Dr. Ambedkar contributed extensively to this biography.)
1922: He planned to do further research in economics at the University of Bonn (and also toyed with the idea of studying Sanskrit there). He sent to the university a handwritten letter and CV in German , but the whole project didn't work out [ source ]. He soon had to return to London to deal with challenges to his thesis.
1923: His Ph.D. thesis at the University of London, " The Problem of the Rupee ," was challenged on political grounds (for its allegedly subversive, anti-British implications), but was resubmitted and finally accepted; it was at once published in London (by P.S. King and Son, Ltd.), and is "dedicated to the memory of my father and mother, as a token of my abiding gratitude for the sacrifices they made and the enlightenment they showed in the matter of my education." (Dhananjay Keer, Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission , Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1971 [1954], pp. 49-50; Dr. Ambedkar contributed extensively to this biography.)
1924: Back in India, Dr. Ambedkar began to practice as a barrister in Bombay, and also began to lecture part-time at Batliboi's Accountancy Training Institute. He founded the "Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha" (Group for the Wellbeing of the Excluded), to help the Depressed Classes mobilize. Its motto was "Educate, Agitate, Organise." (K.N. Kadam, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Significance of his Movement: A Chronology , Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1991, pp. 80-81.)
1925: He published his London School of Economics M.A. thesis as " The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India "; it was dedicated to the Gaikwar of Baroda ("for his help in the matter of my education"), and had an introduction by Prof. Seligman. He also gave testimony before the Royal Commission on Indian Currency and Finance . (K.N. Kadam, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Significance of his Movement: A Chronology , Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1991, p. 81.)
1926: The Governor of Bombay nominated him as a member of the Bombay Legislative Council; he took his duties seriously, and often delivered speeches on economic matters. Here are some of his important speeches, 1927-28 .
1926: He led the satyagraha at Mahad to exercise the right of Untouchables to draw water from the Chavdar Tank. He ceremonially took a drink of water from the tank, after which local caste Hindus rioted, and Brahmins took elaborate measure for the ritual purification of the tank. (K. N. Kadam, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Significance of his Movement: A Chronology , Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1991, p. 83.)
1927: On January 1st, he held a meeting at the Koregaon Victory Memorial, 17 miles from Poona, which commemorates the defeat of the Peshwa's forces and the inauguration of British rule. The names of Mahar soldiers who fought with the British are inscribed there on a marble tablet. Such meetings still take place annually there on that day. (K.N. Kadam, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Significance of his Movement: A Chronology , Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1991, pp. 82-83; Eleanor Zelliot, personal communication, Feb. 2005)
1927: On June 8, he was formally awarded the Ph.D. degree from Columbia University. His Ph.D. thesis was " The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India ." (Note: different dates are given in different sources for this event, but this is the one given on his own official transcript, preserved in the Registrar's Office, Columbia University.)
1927: On December 24th, he addressed a second Depressed Classes Conference in Mahad; he attacked the Laws of Manu [ site ] [ site ], and then a copy of this ancient text was publicly burned, to the shock and horror of many caste Hindus. (K. N. Kadam, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Significance of his Movement: A Chronology , Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1991, p.87.)
1928: Dr. Ambedkar was appointed Professor at the Government Law College, Bombay; his term of appointment ended in 1929. (K.N. Kadam, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Significance of his Movement: A Chronology , Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1991, p.89.)
1928: Dr. Ambedkar was selected as a member of the Bombay Presidency Committee to work with the Simon Commission, drafting guidelines for political change in India. Congress decided to boycott the Simon Commission because it has no Indians on it. Discussion: Syed Amjad Ali ; Banglapedia . Dissenting from the views of many of his colleagues, Dr. Ambedkar prepared a detailed report setting out his own recommendations.
1929: Dr. Ambedkar closed his second journal, "Bahiskrit Bharat" ("Excluded India"), which he had started in 1927, and replaced it with the "Janata" ("The People"), which was published until 1956, when it took on the name "Prabuddha Bharata" (after his conversion). (K. N. Kadam, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Significance of his Movement: A Chronology , Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1991, p. 93; Eleanor Zelliot, private communication, Jan. 2005)
1929: On Oct. 23, during a visit to Chalisgaon, he had a bad accident, and was confined to bed until the last week of December.
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2022, International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM),
Ambedkar was instrumental in identifying the problems with caste society and fought his entire life to free Dalits from social prejudice, economic estrangement, and political exclusion. The Indian polymath Babasaheb Ambedkar was knowledgeable in law, economics, sociology, media, politics, and social reform. A de-urbanization process and an excessive increase in rural population have harmed India. Industrialization is a powerful and natural solution to India's poverty and unemployment problems. A just government would not engage in such covert robbery of the poor. In 1922, the Jat-Pat-Todak Mandal was established in Lahore as a branch of the Arya Samaj. The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was founded by Babasaheb Ambedkar in 1936. The Currency Act of 1835 resulted in one of the biggest financial revolutions in Indian history. It put an end to India's "Double Standard," or bimetallic system, and switched it to a monometallic silver standard. The value of the Indian rupee fell as a result of the increased supply of silver. It is very difficult for a centralised authority to allocate resources across the nation with reasonable knowledge and discretion. The Currency Act of 1835 was responsible for one of the biggest financial revolutions in Indian history. India switched to a monometallic silver standard as a result, ending the "Double Standard" or bimetallic system. The value of the Indian rupee decreased as a result of the increased supply of silver. In this background, this research paper mainly concentrates on the economic thoughts of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on the Indian economy and society from a theoretical perspective.
Mukt Shabd Journal
Dr. G. YOGANANDHAM
Babasaheb's economic theories were not widely accepted in modern economics because he was better known as a dalit leader than an economist. By examining how his economic theories were embraced at various stages in India's economic history, one may judge the importance of his opinions.The Indian Constitution is credited to Dr. BhimRaoAmbedkar as its founder. He is also well known for being an amazing lawyer, an outstanding economist, and a superb dalit leader. The first person to seek a PhD in economics from a country other than India was Babasaheb.The Present Problem in Indian Currency, The Problem of Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution, Ancient India Commerce, and Administration and Finance of the East India Company are just a few of the theses, dissertations, and papers written by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. New water and electricity programmes, state socialism, and contributions to labour law reform are also mentioned.In 1861, once legislation was passed, Indian rupees were recognised as legal money. In 1893, the manufacturing of silver coins was halted, and Indian rupees were recognised as legal tender. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar opposed the notion of linking the availability of gold and money. Instead of gold, he believed that commodities should serve as a reliable unit of measure for money.Ambedkar's Canon of Public Expenditure was cited by the Financial Commission of India as a key reference. The government is obligated to provide basic amenities to taxpaying citizens. Every government should be committed to ensuring that its citizens have access to transportation, healthcare, and law and order.
isara solutions
Interal Res journa Managt Sci Tech
After long periods of disregard, the thoughts of B.R. Ambedkar appear to pick up money. While his considerations on Indian culture and governmental issues have collected more consideration, a portion of his financial thoughts also merit more prominent consideration. Referred to a great extent as the dad of the Indian Constitution and a pioneer of Dalits, Ambedkar started his vocation as a financial expert, making significant commitments to the major monetary discussions of the day. He was, truth be told, among the best taught financial experts of his age in India, having earned a doctorate in financial matters from Columbia University in the US and another from the London School of Economics. Ambedkar's London doctoral postulation, later distributed as a book, was on the administration of the rupee. Around then, there was a major discussion on the overall benefits of the best quality level opposite the gold trade standard.
Basavaraj Bhuse
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar is one such great thinker, leader and intellectual of its time in India who has not only changed the life of millions of untouchables, but shaped India as a biggest democratic nation by writing its constitution. Many of us know Bharat Ratna Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as a social reformer and a person who had fought for untouchables in India. But, very few would have know that Babasaheb was a great scholar who made outstanding contributions as an economist, sociologist, legal luminary, educationalist, journalist, Parliamentarian along with social reformer and human rights. Dr. Ambedkar, one of the multidimensional personalities having great noteworthy contribution in economics. He led for downtroddens in the country and they were way ahead of his times. Ambedkar's thoughts of economics have made a significant impact on the social movement. The present research paper attempts to discuss about Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's outstanding contribution in economics and also to consider its relevance to current Indian Economy.
International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM)
Dr.B.R. Ambedkar opposed John Maynard Keynes' recommendation that India adopt a gold exchange system and advocated in favor of a gold standard. In his view, a gold exchange standard gave the issuer more power to control the money supply, endangering the stability of the unit of currency. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who lived from 1889 to 1956, significantly influenced the growth and development of contemporary India. He was unusual in that he combined the traits of a great scholar, statesman, and social revolutionist into one person. BhimRaoAmbedkar was a devoted pupil of Professor Seligman and a Ph.D. economist. He considered and analyzed a wide range of issues, including as caste and untouchability, as well as issues like land reform and India's foreign policy. He also worked as a lawyer and had a sharp legal mind. Dr.B.R. Ambedkar wrote a lot about both the Indian monetary system and economics in general. Renowned economists including J.M. Keynes, Edwin R.A. Seligman, and Edwin Canon backed him. In 1924-1925, he testified before the Royal Commission on Indian Currency and Finance. State socialism is credited to B. R. Ambedkar as its creator. He felt that all of the nation's resources, including land, agriculture, and industry, should be subject to constitutional control by the State. Both the land reform movement and the state's economic expansion depended on him. He is credited with developing the first national irrigation program and the development of electrical power. His accomplishments include the formulation of the Indian Constitution, which serves as the country's legal and governmental foundation.Dr. Ambedkar maintained that it is necessary to nationalize fundamental and important industries. By assigning a job to a person in advance and selecting them based not on their skills or abilities but rather on the social standing of their parents, the caste system violates the idea of free choice.In this background, the article's theme is highly relevant to the modern context and need of the hour.
Mayas Publication
Dr. M. KIRANEKUMAR
All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced in any form by any means without the prior written permission from the authors and publisher. All the contents, data, information, views opinions, charts, tables, figures, Graphs etc., that are published in this book are the sole responsibility of the authors. Neither the publisher nor the editors in anyway are responsible for the same.
JOHN MOHAN RAZU
Comprehensively present Ambedkar's relevance to the socio-economic terrains of the Dalits.
Manak Singariya
ABSTRACT: Dr. B.R Ambedkar was among the most outstanding intellectuals of India in the 20th century. His work in economics is noteworthy. His views deals with public finance and agriculture are landmark in the economics. Ambedkar’s commitment was internal stability and he was convinced that only an automatic system based on gold standard with gold currency could achieve this desirable end. He was of view that governments should spend the resources garnered from the public not only as per rules, laws and regulations, but also to see that “faithfulness, wisdom and economy”. Intervening in a discussion in the Bombay Legislative Council on October 10, 1927, Dr. Ambedkar argued that the solution to the agrarian question "lies not in increasing the size of farms, but in having intensive cultivation that is employing more capital and more labour on the farms such as we have." Further on, he says: "The better method is to introduce cooperative agriculture and to compel owners of small strips to join in cultivation." Thus Ambedkar thought on public Finance and agriculture has vital relevance and still applicable in current situation of India. In order to enhance productivity of agriculture sector, government is needed to take measures on the basis of Dr. Ambedkar’s thought. Keywords: internal stability, administrative policies, financial arrangement, cooperative agriculture
P.K. CHAUBEY
Contemporary Voice of Dalit
Manjula Laxman
Ambedkar was a multifaceted personality who made deep impression on the social-political-economic life of India of his times. Ambedkar provided valuable guidance on the socio-political-economic platform in colonial India and independent India as well; yet economists have generally ignored his contributions to India. In this context, this article examines his significant role in federal finance, which is an important branch of economics and makes an effort to understand and evaluate the process of its development and his contribution to it. He had played a major role in a newborn country like India. He had been one of the contributors to the Constitution of India and had contributed towards the development of the federal finance system in independent India. His main insistence on the federal finance system was for economic welfare of the people with the establishment of such an economic system from the local to centre levels, which could progressively raise their economic level without jeopardizing their interests.
Vijay Kumar Sarabu
Dr. B.R. Ambhedkar was a multifaceted personality, an intellectual, a philosopher, a patriot, a social reformer, a champion of dalits, a scholar, a writer, constitution maker, an economist, an eminent lawyer and a feminist. India's first monetary economist who prudently analyzed the problems of Indian rupee. He was protagonist of industrial modernization and favored industrialization. He favored skill development, land reforms and technological up gradation in agriculture. His PhD thesis “The problem of Indian Rupee, its origin and solution” inspired to set up for the Finance Commission of India and his works helped a lot in framing guidelines for the RBI Act 1934. He was one of the founders of Employment Exchanges in our country. This paper attempts to study his role critically as an Economist and as a Social Reformer. Methodology: This research paper is based on secondary sources that are available from the reference books given at the end of my paper. Critical Analysis of BR Ambhedkar: He came close to Marxian and Weberian conceptions and differs from them. Ambhedkar accepted Buddhism as an alternative to Hinduism. Buddha and Marx’s ends remain same but means differ. Some critically oppose Ambhedkar on caste basis reservations, while he was quite against caste system in India. Instead, he would have advocated reservations on economic criteria.
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Issn 2582-9785, a journal on theory and praxis, on economics, banking and trades: a critical overview of ambedkar's “the problem of the rupee”.
Janardan Das
The Problem of Rupee is 257-page long paper written by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar that he presented as his Doctoral thesis at the London School of Economics (LSE) in March 1923. In it, Ambedkar tried to explain the troubles that were associated with the national currency of India - the Rupee. He argued against the British ploy to keep the exchange rate too high to facilitate the trade of their factory products.
In this article, I have tried to summarize the aforesaid book by Dr. Ambedkar. I have also tried to focus on how he advances his speech depicting the ups and downs of the Indian economy and currency. He introduces us to the characteristics of trade and business in our country even from the time when it was divided into several monarchical regions. He proclaims that in our country, the trade of any product had been conducted through the exchanges of money and those particular products. So evidently our merchant society is typically crowned as a pecuniary society that only runs on money.
Quoting W. C. Mitchell, Ambedkar reiterates that economists say money is pivotal to every individual in a society. And without the use of money, the distribution of anything can be a matter of disagreement and disturbance. In the next few lines of his speech, in the first chapter, he describes how the standards and currency were in the time of the Mughal empire and he certainly mentioned that the economic condition of the country was far better than that of today's, because it had a world-wide boundary of trade and free use of gold mohur and the silver rupee . Actually, before the administrative and financial invasion of British, Gold and silver were the inevitable parts of the medium of exchange without any fixed ratio. Hindu emperors and the Muslim emperors had some similarity in their trading features- both of them had a permissible use of metal coin in their empire but in the Mughal empire silver coins were at the center of currency, and later gold coins took that place in the Hindi empires. Mohur and rupee were similar in size, weight and composition. But the silver currency was unknown or more precisely unpopular to the southern part of the great Indian sub-continent because of the failure of Mughal administration. Instead of such coins, they normalised pagoda , the ancient gold coin traditioned from the time of Hindu kings. Mughals made allowances to recuperate the problems regarding faulty technology of the mints. Dr. Ambedkar observes that Mughals had initiated a system of provincial mints that had been maintained or ruled by a single unit or division. That made it easy to examine the issues related to monetary funds or mints. But later, these issues continued to be grow larger and made the poor and ignorant people suffer. He also tried to conjugate the great re-coinage of 1996 (?) . In the last half of the chapter, Ambedkar compared the coins as well as the rupee in every possible way.
Our country was divided into three presidencies during the British rule. So the British government set their target to change the parallel standard popular in Mughal times into a double standard by establishing an authorised ratio of exchange between pagoda , rupee , and mohur . But somewhere their effort partially went in vain. He gave a pictorial glimpse of how Bengal took this effort and tried to fix that ratio. Mainly, these types of attempts were taken and recommended by the Court of directors. But these steps were left to carry out by many of the provincial governments of India. In the first chapter of the problem of the rupee, Dr. Ambedkar explained how silver standards had been established through the vanishing of gold currency and how it had been supplemented by the paper currency. He also retorted how the Act XXIII of 1870 actually introduced nothing new - neither the number of the coins authorised by the mints nor its tender-powers. Rather, it helped just to make some improvements in monetary laws. Since the invention of coinage people always thought that the actual value of the coin can be exact with the price of the coin legalised by the mint. So according to him, the exact value of the coin can’t however always be the same as the certified value. That’s why in foreign countries, coins will not be legal tender if they vary from their legal standards beyond a certain limit. So, making coins legal tender without defining a certain limit to its toleration certainly makes way to cheat. Convincingly, the Act set a certain legal limit to the coins of its tolerance. The act also made an improvement that was to recognise the principle of free coinage. But we can not say that this principle of free coinage was perfect in every possible way as Ambedkar himself once said in this chapter that the principle had not been paid that much attention it deserved. Though it was the very basis of well-established currency in that it has an important bearing on the cardinal question of the amount of currency inevitable for the transactions of the people. According to Ambedkar, to solve this problem, two ways can be very useful to regulate such a huge quantity of transactions. One possible way is to close the mints and to leave it to the judgment of the government to handle the currency to suit our needs. The other way is to keep the mint as it is and to leave it to the self-interest of individuals to determine the amount of currency they need. Ambedkar aptly indicated both of the similarities and contradictions of the above-mentioned Act with the other ones where surely, he finds its incapability to regulate such a large quantity of currency.
In the introduction to the third chapter, Ambedkar was concerned about the economic results of the disturbance of the ‘par’ of exchange and he narrates it as the most “far-reaching character”. Our economic world can be sectioned into two neatly defined groups of people. These two categorised community had learned to use gold and silver and their standard money or purchasing standards. By giving a reference to 1873, he said that when a large amount of gold becomes equal to a large amount of silver, it barely matters for international transactions. It doesn’t make so much difference in which of the two currencies its obligations were stipulated and realized. But due to the dislocation of the fixed ratio or par, it becomes hard to indicate particularly how much silver is equal to how much of gold from one year to another, even from month to month. This exactitude of value which is the pivotal potential of monetary exchange, makes space for ambiguities of gambling. So, flatly all countries weren’t drawn to this center of perplexities in the same degree and the same extent; but yet it’s impossible for a nation which is a part of the international commercial world to escape from being dragged into it. This was true of our country as it was of no other country. India was a silver-standard country bound to a gold-standard country, so that her economic and financial picture was at “the mercy of blind forces operating upon the relative values of gold and silver which governed the rupee-sterling exchange.” Later in the discussion, Ambedkar pointed out the burdens of Indian economy and introduced us to an index [Table-XI] chart regarding the rupee cost of gold payments which showed data from year to year. If we give pay attention to the points figured out by Ambedkar, we can see that these burdens never stop, rather it’s been increasing day by day. Gradually, it caused various policies of high taxations and rigidity in Indian finance. Dr. Ambedkar brilliantly analysed Indian budgets between 1872-1882 and he proved that hardly a year passed without making an addition to the everlasting impositions on the country. He also analysed the information found in Malwa Opium Trade and was able to find errors in the economic policies of the Indian government. The taxes that the government standardized in these trades probably help the Indian economy to feel secure around the end of 1882. The government started exercising the virtue of economy along with the increment of resources. They found cheap agency of native Indians instead of employing imported Englishmen. And it was easy to use native intellect because the Educational Reforms of 1853 clearly says about the access of natives in Indian Civil Service. Thus, he finds the British try to set up a strong economy in India under the British Raj.
In the fourth chapter of the book, Ambedkar focuses on how the establishment of a stable economic system was dependent upon the re-establishment of a common standard of value. As it was the purpose just to normalise a common standard of value, its fulfillment was by no means an easy matter. The government found mostly two ways to make an experiment or practice. First thing was to declare any of the common metal as the standard currency and the second was to let gold and silver standard countries keep to these metal currencies and to establish a fixed ratio of exchange as to turn these to metal into a common standard of value. The first idea of normalising metal currency other than gold and silver was to make other countries leave their standards in favour of gold. If we look back at the history of movements for the reform of the Indian currency, we will mainly find two movements. The movement that led to introduce a gold standard first occupies this field. Dragging a reference to a ‘Report of the Indian Currency Committee’ of 1898, Dr. Ambedkar said that the notification of 1868 had bluntly failed and this failure doesn’t affect the history because the movement had already started earlier in the sixties and the movement had still life in it. Clearly, it is shown by the fact that it was revived four years later by Sir R. Temple, when he became the Finance Minister of India, in a memorandum dated May 15, 1872.
In the next few lines, Dr. Ambedkar talks about the second movement for the introduction of the gold standard that was conducted by Colonel J. T. Smith, the able Mint Master of India. Frankly, Dr. Ambedkar mentioned that his plan was a redress for the falling exchange. In this topic, he quoted the actual speech of Smith that was published in 1876 in London. Depicting the whole principle behind the presentation of J. T. Smith, Baba Saheb found it was considerably supported by the fall of silver in British India.
Now in the fifth chapter, we come to know that once somewhere Indian economic system felt that the problem of an erosive rupee was favourably dissolved. The long-lasting concerns and niceties that lingered over a long period even for a quarter of the century could not but have been successfully compensated by the adoption of a redress like the one mentioned in the fourth chapter. But unfortunately, the system originally planned, failed to be designed into reality. In its place, a system of currency in India grew up which was the very reverse or contradictory of it. A few years later when the legislative sanction had been shown the recommendations and suggestions of the Fowler committee, the Chamberlain Commission on Indian Finance and Currency said that the government contemplated to adopt the recommendations made by the committee of 1898, but the contemporary system utterly differs from the plan and had some common feature with the theory and suggestions made by Mr. A. M. Lindsay.
According to Mr. Lindsay’s scheme, he emphasised on how to turn the entire Indian currency to a rupee currency; the government was to give rupees in almost every case in return for gold, whereas gold for rupees only in foreign dispatch of money. The project was to be implicated through the assistance in between of two offices, one was in London and the other located in here, India. The first was to sell drafts on the latter when rupees were wanted and the latter was to sell drafts on the former when gold was wanted. Unbelievably, the same or similar system prevailed in our country. It was rejected in 1898. Then gradually paper currency came up to the Indian economic realm and two reserves one of gold and other of currencies left other than gold. Ambedkar had lengthened his discussion over Indian currencies after these events.
In the sixth chapter of the book, Dr. Ambedkar said about a memorable thing that was to remind the time when all the Indian Mints were shut down to the free coinage of silver. and the economic world in India was surely divided into two parties, one in favour of the step and the other stood in opposition to the closure of the mints. Being placed in an embarrassing and contradictory position by the fall of the rupee, the British Government of the time felt anxiety to close the Mints and increase its value with a conception to sigh in relief from the burden of its gold payments. Whereas it was requested, to produce an increment of interest of the country, that such accretion in the exchange value of the rupee would cause a disaster to the entire Indian trade and industry. One of the reasons, it was argued, why the Indian industry had advanced by such leaps and bounds as it did from 1873 to 1893 was to be found in the bounty given to the Indian export trade by the falling exchange. If the fall of the rupee was discovered by the Mint closure, everyone feared that such an event was certainly bound to cut Indian trade both ways. It would give the silver-using countries a bounty as over against India and would deprive India of the bounty which is obtained from the falling exchange as over against gold-using countries.
However, in the seventh as well as the last chapter of the book, Ambedkar examined the system of the economy that was advancing towards the changes of the exchange standard in the light of the claim made on behalf of it. Though it is very much a matter of uncertainty and hard to explain the history of Indian banking, but sure if being followed, it will be easy to interpret the market, values of products. Unmistakably, the works of Ambedkar led the nation towards the development and advancement of its economics and international banking and trades.
Works Cited
Ambedkar, B. R. History of Indian Currency and Banking. Butler & Tanner Ltd.
______________. The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India. P. S. King & Son Ltd., 1925.
______________. The Problem of the Rupee. P. S. King & Son Ltd., 1923.
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Janardan Das studies English literature at Presidency University, Kolkata.
Apart from two master’s and Bar-at-Law, he had four doctoral degrees plus he knew several European languages (and quite a few Indian languages including Sanskrit). He also wrote the Pali language dictionary and was the first person from South Asia to have been conferred a Degree of Ph.D. in Economics. Dr. Ambedkar was only 24 years old when he wrote his paper on “Castes in India – Their Mechanism, Genesis, and Development”. In his paper, he challenged many well-established scholars who had already written on caste.
Below is Dr. Ambedkar’s education history , starting with elementary education. It is almost impossible to state his extraordinarily vast educational experience. No wonder he is also popularly known as the “ Symbol of Knowledge ”
Even though Dr. Ambedkar is well known as one of the greatest intellectuals of his time, ethics were more important to him than intellectual acumen because he knew that ethical people were more likely to be of greater service to society than mere intellectuals. If they were both, ethical and intellectual, that would be of the greatest value to humankind.
What makes Dr B.R Ambedkar even greater is that he came from the most humble background with an almost impossible task of rising to the heights that he did, eventually becoming the chief architect and chairman of the drafting committee of the Indian constitution, a symbol of knowledge and a champion of human rights. To begin with, Dr Ambedkar had nothing more than his personal qualities to rely upon and the most fantastic dream of liberty, equality, fraternity, and justice for all. His name will always be amongst the greatest in Indian history.
[ This article was appeared first in Global Ambedkarite and written by Anti caste Activist Shekhar Bodhakar ]
Why publication of b.r. ambedkar's thesis a century later will be significant, a contemporary relevance of the thesis, written as part of ambedkar's msc degree at the london school of economics, is that it argues for massive expenditure on heads like defence to be diverted to the social sector.
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Now, over a century after it was written, Ambedkar’s hitherto unpublished thesis on the provincial decentralisation of imperial finance in colonial times will finally see the light of the day. The Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Source Material Publication Committee of the Maharashtra government plans to publish the thesis that was written by Ambedkar as part of his MSc degree from the London School of Economics (LSE). The thesis, ‘Provincial Decentralisation of Imperial Finance in British India’, will be part of the 23rd volume of Ambedkar’s works to be published by the committee and will give a glimpse into the works of Ambedkar, the economist. Notably, the dissertation argues for expenditure on heads like defence to be diverted for social goods like education and public health.
The source material committee, which was set up in 1978, has published 22 volumes on Ambedkar’s writings since April 1979. “This volume will have two parts. One will contain the MSc thesis and the other will have communication and documents related to his MA, MSc, PhD and bar-at-law degrees,” confirmed Pradeep Aglave, member secretary of the committee. He added that the MSc thesis had been submitted to the LSE in 1921. Veteran Ambedkarite and founder of the Dalit Panthers, J.V. Pawar, who is a member of the committee, said it was significant that the thesis was being published over a century after it was written. Pawar played a pivotal role in ensuring that the committee was set up.
“This work deals with taxation and expenditure. The contemporary relevance of this thesis is that it seeks a progressive taxation based on income levels. Ambedkar argued that expenditure on heads like defence was huge and this needed to be diverted to social needs like education, public health, and water supply,” said Sukhadeo Thorat, economist and former chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC). Thorat was among those instrumental in the source material committee getting a copy of the thesis from London.
“The sixth volume (1989), published by the source material committee, contains Ambedkar’s writings on economics. This includes his works like ‘Administration and Finance of the East India Company’ (1915) and the ‘Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution’ (1923). However, this MSc thesis on provincial finance could not be included in it because it was not available then,” said Thorat.
J. Krishnamurty, a Geneva-based labour economist located the MSc thesis in the Senate House Library in London and approached Thorat who, in turn, communicated with Gautam Chakravarti of the Ambedkar International Mission in London. Santosh Das, another Ambedkarite from London, paid the fees for permission to reproduce the work in copyright. The soft copy of the thesis was sent to the source material committee on November 18, 2021.
In addition to the MSc thesis, the communication and letters related to his academics, such as the MA, PhD, MSc and DSc and bar-at-law including LLD (an honorary degree that was awarded to Ambedkar by the Columbia University in 1952after he finished drafting the Constitution of India, which remains one of his most significant contributions to modern India), were also arranged and compiled by Krishnamurty, Thorat and Aglave. This also includes the courses done by Ambedkar for his MA and pre-PHD at the Columbia University. These details are being published for the first time.
Ambedkar’s biographer Changdev Bhavanrao Khairmode, writes how Ambedkar worked untiringly in London for his MSc. Ambedkar secured admission for his MSc in the LSE on September 30, 1920 by paying a fee of 11 pounds and 11 shillings. He was given a student pass with the number 11038.
Ambedkar had prepared for his MSc in Mumbai, yet he began studying books and reports from four libraries in London, namely the London University’s general library, Goldsmiths' Library of Economic Literature and the libraries in the British Museum and India Office. In London, Ambedkar would wake up at 6 am, have the breakfast served by his landlady and rush to the library for his studies. Around 1 pm, he would take a short break for a meagre lunch or have just a cup of tea and then return to the library to study till it closed for the day.
“He would sleep for a few hours. He would stand at the doors of the library before it opened and before others came there,” says Khairmode in the first volume of his magisterial work on Ambedkar (Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Volume I) that was first published in 1952. The library staff in the British Museum would tell Ambedkar that they had not seen a student like him who was immersed in his books and they also doubted if they would get to see one like him in the future!
The volume also contains a letter written by Ambedkar in German on February 25, 1921 to the University of Bonn seeking admission. Ambedkar wanted to study Sanskrit language and German philosophy in the varsity’s department of Indology. In school, Ambedkar was discriminated against on grounds of caste and not allowed to learn Sanskrit. He had to learn Persian instead. Ambedkar secured admission to Bonn University but had to return to London three months later to revise and complete his DSc thesis.
Ambedkar completed his DSc in 1923 under the guidance of Professor Edwin Cannan of the LSE on the problem of the rupee, which is described as a “remarkable piece of research on Indian currency, and probably the first detailed empirical account of the currency and monetary policy during the period”.
Ambedkar was among the first from India to pursue doctoral studies in economics abroad. He specialised in finance and currency. His ‘The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India: A Study in the Provincial Decentralisation of Imperial Finance (1925)’, carried a foreword by Edwin R.A. Seligman, Professor of Economics, Columbia University, New York. Ambedkar also played a pivotal role in the conceptualisation and establishment of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 1935.
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“no more worlds here for him to conquer” – br ambedkar at lse.
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Dr BR Ambedkar, principal architect of the Constitution of India and the first post-colonial Minister of Law and Justice, spent several years at LSE earning his second Masters Degree and Doctorate. One hundred years after he first registered to study, Sue Donnelly looks back on Ambedkar’s time at LSE.
In 1920 the economist Edwin R Seligman wrote from Columbia University to Professor Herbert Foxwell, teaching at LSE recommending a former student, Bhimrao Ramji (BR) Ambedkar, and asking Foxwell to help him in his research. In November 1920 Foxwell wrote to the School Secretary, Mrs Mair:
“I find he has already taken his doctor’s degree & has only come here to finish a research. I had forgotten this. I am sorry we cannot identify him with the School but there are no more worlds here for him to conquer.”
Despite this BR Ambedkar registered for a master’s degree and completed a PhD thesis on his second attempt to study at LSE. 2016 marks the 125 th anniversary of BR Ambedkar’s birth in 1891 and the centenary of his first visit to LSE in 1916. Ambedkar was born into a family from a so-called “untouchable” caste. Ambedkar was later to popularise the use of the term Dalit meaning ‘oppressed’ and became a social reformer and architect of the Indian constitution.
After studying at Elphinstone High School in Bombay he was the first Dalit to enroll at Elphinstone College and the University of Bombay taking a degree in economics and political science. In 1913 he was awarded a Baroda State Scholarship and moved to Columbia University, New York, completing a masters in 1913 and a thesis, National Dividend of India-A Historic and Analytical Study in 1916. A desire to undertake research into the history of Indian finance and currency led Ambedkar to study in London where a wider range of research sources would be available.
In 1916 he registered at LSE for a master’s degree and took courses in Geography with Halford Mackinder, and Political Ideas with G Lowes Dickinson, alongside Social Evolution and Social Theory with Professor LT Hobhouse. The fees for the course were £10 10s. At the same time Ambedkar enrolled for the bar course at Gray’s Inn.
In 1916 LSE was only 21 years old but with a high reputation in the social sciences and for its international student body, in 1913-1914 142 students had come from outside of the Britain. The outbreak of the First World War had impacted on the work of the School and student numbers had fallen by almost half to around 800. Ambedkar’s studies were interrupted as he was recalled to India to serve as Military Secretary in Baroda and in July 1917 the University of London gave him leave of absence of up to four years.
In 1920 Ambedkar returned to LSE after working as professor of political economy at Sydenham College in Mumbai and giving evidence to the Scarborough Committee preparing the 1919 Government of India Act on the position and representation of “untouchable” communities. Initially he applied to complete his masters degree and write a thesis on The Provincial Decentralisation of Imperial Finance in India. His fees had gone up by a guinea to £11 11s. There was a slight glitch in his LSE career in April 1921 when he failed to send in his form for the summer examinations and the School Secretary, Mrs Mair, had to write to University of London’s Academic Registrar for permission to submit the form late.
In economics Ambedkar’s tutors included Professor Edwin Cannan and Professor Herbert Foxwell both of whom had taught at the School since its opening in 1895. He would also have met Theodore Gregory who began as an assistant in economics but became Cassell Reader in International Trade in 1920. Gregory became an economic advisor in India from 1938-1946.
Ambedkar finally submitted his doctoral thesis, The Problem of the Rupee , in March 1923 but it was not recommended for acceptance. Reports claim that the thesis was too revolutionary and anti-British for the examiners. However there is no indication of this in Ambedkar’s student file. The thesis was resubmitted in August 1923 and accepted in November 1923. It was published almost immediately and in the preface Ambedkar noted “my deep sense of gratitude to my teacher, Professor Edwin Cannan “noting that Cannan’s “severe examination of my theoretical discussions has saved me from many an error”. Cannan repaid the complement by writing the Foreword to the thesis in which he found “a stimulating freshness” even if he disagreed with some of the arguments.
After his success Ambedkar returned to India where he was prominent in the campaign for Indian independence and opposing discrimination for Dalit communities. In 1947 he became the first Law Minister of independent India and was Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee. LSE continued to take an interest in his career and in 1932 the Director, William Beveridge, wrote to Professor Cannan that Ambedkar had been invited to the School by John Coatman, Professor of Imperial Economic Relations, formerly director of public information for the Indian Police Service and the British government in India, to meet Professor Gregory while attending the roundtable discussions on the Indian constitution.
In 1973 a portrait of BR Ambedkar was unveiled in the lobby to Clement House. A bust unveiled in 1994 is currently displayed in the Atrium Gallery of the Old Building.
This article originally appeared on the LSE History blog. It gives the views of the author, and not the position of the South Asia @ LSE blog, nor of the London School of Economics. Please read our comments policy before posting.
About the Author
Sue Donnelly is the LSE Archivist.
January 26th, 2017.
August 19th, 2016.
January 19th, 2015.
February 13th, 2017.
South Asia @ LSE welcomes contributions from LSE faculty, fellows, students, alumni and visitors to the school. Please write to [email protected] with ideas for posts on south Asia-related topics.
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PDF | I have attempted to provide an accurate timeline for Ambedkar's incredible educational achievements between 1913 and 1927.
Uncover how this 100-year-old thesis laid the foundation for the Indian banking system and influenced the establishment of the Reserve Bank of India. Delve into Dr. Ambedkar's insights on the British manipulation of the Indian currency and the gold exchange standard, and discover how his research continues to shape India's economic history.
Dr B R Ambedkar is one of the most important alumnus of LSE, from where he was awarded his MA and PhD. His doctoral thesis on 'The Indian Rupee', written in 1922-23, was later published as The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution (London: P S King & Son, Ltd, 1923).
Abstract I have attempted to provide an accurate timeline for Ambedkar's incredible educational achievements between 1913 and 1927. Although there is wealth of literature on Ambedkar's life, ambiguities and errors abound. I have therefore examined afresh archival material and secondary sources.
Dr. Ambedkar was the main architect of the Constitution of India, and served as the first law and justice minister of the Republic of India, and is considered by many one of the foremost global critical thinkers of the 20th c., and a founder of the Dalit Buddhist movement. Ambedkar's fight for social justice for Dalits, as well as women, and ...
The Evolution Of Provincial Finance In British India by Ambedkar, B. R. Publication date 1923 Topics C-DAK Collection digitallibraryindia; JaiGyan Language English Item Size 839565545 Book Source: Digital Library of India Item 2015.31840 dc.contributor.author: Ambedkar, B. R. dc.date.accessioned: 2015-06-25T16:22:56Z dc.date.available: 2015-06 ...
Dr B R Ambedkar first visited LSE in 1916, returned in 1921 and submitted his doctoral thesis in 1923. Sue Donnelly investigates Ambedkar's life at LSE.
Dr Ambedkar published his thesis "The Problem of Rupee: Its Origin and its Solution" in 1923. The book talks about that problem of Indian Currency when both Indian Business interest and British Colonial had a clash.
The first person to seek a PhD in economics from a country other than India was Babasaheb.The Present Problem in Indian Currency, The Problem of Rupee: Its Origin and Its Solution, Ancient India Commerce, and Administration and Finance of the East India Company are just a few of the theses, dissertations, and papers written by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Ambedkar reached Mumbai on April 14, 1923 and submitted the dissertation in a revised form in August 1923. The University approved of the revised version and awarded him the doctoral degree (DSc) in November 1923.
7.3 AMBEDKAR ON FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND RUPEE ned a doctorate from London School of Economics in 1923 under the supervision of Prof. Edwin Canaan. His thesis, "The Problem of the Rupee: Its Origin and Solution" was on the problems of the rupee, and was published in book for
After graduating from Elphinstone College, University of Bombay, Ambedkar studied economics at Columbia University and the London School of Economics, receiving doctorates in 1927 and 1923, respectively, and was among a handful of Indian students to have done so at either institution in the 1920s. [ 1] He also trained in the law at Gray's Inn, London. In his early career, he was an economist ...
1922: Through unremitting hard work, Ambedkar once again overfulfilled all expectations: he completed a thesis for a M.Sc. (Econonics) degree at London School of Economics, and was called to the bar, and submitted a Ph.D. thesis in economics to the University of London.
Ambedkar finally submitted his doctoral thesis, 'The Problem of the Rupee', in March 1923 but it was not recommended for acceptance and reports claim that the thesis was too revolutionary and anti-British for the examiners. However, there is no indication of this in Ambedkar's student file.
The thesis that Dr. B. R. Ambedkar presented to the London School of Economics, for which he was granted his doctorate in 1923, was titled "The Problem of the Rupee."
On Economics, Banking and Trades: A Critical Overview of Ambedkar's "The Problem of the Rupee". The Problem of Rupee is 257-page long paper written by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar that he presented as his Doctoral thesis at the London School of Economics (LSE) in March 1923. In it, Ambedkar tried to explain the troubles that were associated with the ...
Dalit History Dr.Ambedkar. Apart from two master's and Bar-at-Law, he had four doctoral degrees plus he knew several European languages (and quite a few Indian languages including Sanskrit). He also wrote the Pali language dictionary and was the first person from South Asia to have been conferred a Degree of Ph.D. in Economics.
Abstract. Dr. B.R. AMBEDKAR was the pioneer in the field of Welfare of Indian Labour-the working Class and their social security. He was so sincere and serious in this cause that he even fought ...
A contemporary relevance of the thesis, written as part of Ambedkar's MSc degree at the London School of Economics, is that it argues for massive expenditure on heads like defence to be diverted to the social sector
Despite this BR Ambedkar registered for a master's degree and completed a PhD thesis on his second attempt to study at LSE. 2016 marks the 125 th anniversary of BR Ambedkar's birth in 1891 and the centenary of his first visit to LSE in 1916. Ambedkar was born into a family from a so-called "untouchable" caste.
(vi) Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Central Library subscribed to anti-plagiarism tools Turnitin and it was - made mandatory that all theses and dissertations should be checked using Turnitin before submission. (vii) Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Central Library, JNU implemented electronic submission of theses and dissertations (no hardcopy archived).
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